Annalise Basso is aiming high

An act of bravery for a teenager in a city driven by unrealistic beauty standards? Wait for it. Actress Annalise Basso’s face is entirely devoid of makeup. And yet, we are only a couple of minutes into our conversation when a woman passes by our sidewalk table and excitedly gushes, “Your hair is so gorgeous!” referring to the young actress’ trademark flaming red curls.

I get the feeling that receiving compliments from strangers is a common occurrence for Basso. Sparkling with a friendly demeanor that is not sickly-sweet, Basso speaks with confidence about balancing an acting career and her upcoming senior year of high school. Much of this composure, she admits, has stemmed from her role in Matt Ross’s recent film, Captain Fantastic. In the film, she plays Vespyr, one of six siblings raised far from cosmopolitan society in a quiet forest in the Pacific Northwest by their father, played by Viggo Mortensen. “Vespyr is really confident in herself and that’s something that was hard for me to relate to just because I wasn’t that confident of a person when I filmed it,” she says, “Getting to experience that and be there for three months was very freeing.” Up next Basso can be seen as Paulina Zander, the lead character in Ouija: Origin of Evil in theaters October 21.

Although she is still going through the motions of self-discovery, Basso is aware of both herself and the world. She recognizes the luxury of attending a private high school in Los Angeles and often brings up her appreciation for the opportunity. She frequently mentions her thirst for knowledge; having recently finished The State of Africa (2011) by Martin Meredith, Basso is now beginning Anna Karenina (1877), and hopes to attend an Ivy League college. On her dream roles roster: Queen Elizabeth I, Marie Antoinette, Elizabeth Bennet of Pride and Prejudice (1813), “or a female assassin who has a lot of substance, and isn’t worried about, ‘Oh my god, does he love me?’ I would want to do something where the character doesn’t need no man.”